Islamabad: A meeting of opposition party leaders in Islamabad on Wednesday decided to unite to remove the chairman of the upper house of parliament through “constitutional means” as the beginning of a movement against the incumbent government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Senate is the upper legislative house of the bicameral legislature of the country, with equal representation from all four provinces. In March last year, Sanjrani, a little-known opposition candidate, was elected chairman of the Senate with the support of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and a block of independent Senators from Balochistan.
According to the party position in the 104-member house, opposition parties have the required strength to remove Sanjrani from his position by moving a no-confidence motion against him. Laws in Pakistan need ratification from both the Senate and the National Assembly and having a chairman of their choice would grant the opposition great leverage in politics.
In a day-long multiparty conference held here in Islamabad, members of opposition parties including the PPP, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F), Awami National Party (ANP) and others mulled ways to launch a movement against the PTI-led government.
“It is decided in the meeting that Chairman Senate will be removed through constitutional and legal means,” JUI-F chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman told reporters after the conference, flanked by Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Rehman said a ‘Rehbar Committee’ had been constituted to “propose a unanimous nomination” for the new chairman of the Senate and said any such move would be done while upholding the supremacy of parliament, the constitution, rule of law and civilian rule.
Opposition parties also announced that they would launch a mass contact campaign against the government from July 25, the date of last year’s general elections.
“The meeting has demanded that institutions should not interfere in politics,” Rehman said in a veiled reference to the country’s security institutions, namely the army and its spy agencies, accused of supporting the PTI government in the pre and post election phase. The institutions vehemently deny the charge.
Rehman also demanded that the National Development Council (NDC), an economic body formed by the government this month with the army chief as a member, be dissolved.
“There is no need for it in the presence of the constitutional body, the National Economic Council,” he said.
“The need for struggle for the democratic rights of the people has been reiterated in the meeting,” Rehman said, demanding that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) withdraw its notification that empowers the deployment of army troops inside polling stations during elections in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal districts on July 20.
Rehman said attendees of Wednesday’s meeting demanded an immediate end to the ongoing “revengeful accountability” going on in the country, in a veiled reference to cases against opposition politicians, and demanded a new law under which the accountability of all “who draw salaries from the national exchequer” be held.
The multiparty conference also unanimously rejected the government’s proposed ‘Debt Inquiry Commission’ and called it unconstitutional and an attack on parliament.
Opposition parties kick off anti-government drive by uniting to remove Senate chairman
Opposition parties kick off anti-government drive by uniting to remove Senate chairman
- Announce mass contact campaign from July 25, the date of last year’s general elections
- Demand that new economic body formed by government with army chief as a member be dissolved
Pakistan awards 11 onshore oil and gas blocks to boost domestic production
- Pakistan has faced a widening energy gap due to rising demand, limited domestic output, forcing it to import costly fuels
- Successful joint venture partners include state-run enterprises as well as local and international explorations companies
KARACHI: Pakistan has awarded 11 onshore oil and gas blocks for exploration to state-owned and private firms to boost domestic production and reduce reliance on costly energy imports, the Pakistani information ministry said on Thursday.
Pakistan has faced a widening energy gap due to rising demand and limited domestic output, forcing it to import costly fuels and expose the economy to global price swings. Its petroleum, oil, and lubricants import bill fell 4.39 percent to $9.046 billion in July 2025-January 2026.
On Thursday, the Petroleum Division signed petroleum concession agreements (PCAs) and exploration licenses (ELs) to award 11 onshore blocks for exploration, marking a significant step forward in advancing oil and gas exploration activities across the South Asian country.
The successful joint venture partners include the state-run Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Mari Energies Limited (MariEnergies), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) and Prime Global Energies (Prime).
“Signing of agreements demonstrate strong investor confidence in Pakistan’s upstream potential,” Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said, adding it aimed to boost domestic exploration, attract investment and reduce reliance on imported energy.
MariEnergies will serve as operator for six blocks. The company has secured 100 percent working interest in five blocks, including Padag, Chagai, Dalbandin, Merui, and Merui West, and will lead the Ahmad Wal block as operator with a 60 percent working interest, alongside the
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) that will be holding 40 percent.
OGDCL will operate three blocks, including Kalat North with 100 percent working interest. It will also lead two joint venture blocks: Naing Sharif (OGDCL 70 percent as operator, Prime 30 percent) and Khiu-II (OGDCL 60 percent as operator, MariEnergies 40 percent).
PPL emerged as the highest bidder for the Kalat South block and will operate it with a 40 percent working interest, in partnership with OGDCL (30 percent) and MariEnergies (30 percent). POL secured the Jherruk block with 100 percent working interest.
“The minimum committed investment by the successful bidders exceeds USD31 million (approximately Rs8.66 billion) over the next three years,” the information ministry said. “In addition, more than Rs276 million ($987,133) has been committed toward social welfare initiatives in the respective areas.”
In the event of commercial hydrocarbon discoveries, substantial additional investments amounting to millions of dollars are anticipated for field development and production activities, according to the ministry.
Pakistan has announced new oil and gas discoveries in recent months. Islamabad this month announced a discovery at an exploratory well that produced 225 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 1.01 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas.
In January, a discovery regarding an exploratory well, flowing at the rate of 4,100 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 10.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas, was made in Kohat. In September 2025, Pakistan Petroleum Limited announced a discovery in Attock district, while Mari Energies reported a new gas find in North Waziristan.
“Recent discoveries would lead to further investments in development and production, create employment opportunities, stimulate economic activity in the regions and will contribute meaningfully to reducing reliance on imported energy,” Malik added.
